Lehigh Valley Vineyards Celebrate “Wine in Bloom” This Weekend

The eight wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail will present a new event called Wine in Bloom this weekend, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 21, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 22. The event celebrates bud break on the vines and the growing season. 

Wine in Bloom also highlights the importance that terroir (soil) plays in the development and flavor of the grapes and the resulting taste of the wine. It stresses the importance of the American Viticultural Area designation in further legitimizing the Lehigh Valley for wine making. Each winery will offer its own variety of activities, from vineyard tours and food and wine pairings, to live entertainment and a scavenger hunt.

•  Amore Winery in Nazareth will celebrate Wine in Bloom with a Strawberry Festival featuring strawberry wine paired with a variety of mild cheese, mixed white chocolate treats and assorted strawberry desserts.

•  Big Creek Winery in Kresgeville will be pairing their dry white Seyval with corn chowder a la Seyve Villard.

•  Blue Mountain Winery in New Tripoli is sampling a selection of our wines paired with gourmet cheeses to complement them. Visitors can also show off their singing talents at the first ever Rob-aoke, live karaoke with Rob on Saturday from 1-4 p.m. playing guitar and backing up any willing participants who have a favorite song they’d like to showcase. Sunday is Sangria Sunday from 2-5 p.m., with live entertainment by Leechboy. Admission is $5.

•  Clover Hill Vineyards in Breinigsville will be hosting their annual scavenger hunt.  Check in anytime during the day. In the tasting room we will set visitors up with the scavenger hunt details.

•  Franklin Hill Vineyards in Bangor will offer tastings and tours of their facility, as well as music on the deck. Cheese plates from Klein's Farm will be available for purchase, and guests are welcome to walk around the vineyards to see how the vines have developed for the new vintage. There will also be specials.

•  Galen Glen Winery in Andreas will be sampling the new Berry Pom-A- Rita Wine Slushy. All natural with the tart, sweet flavor of pomegranate and blueberry blended with wine and ice. See the vineyard in bloom on tractor and wagon tours of the vineyard and wine cellar. Free tours depart every hour from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

•  Pinnacle Ridge Winery celebrates with free tours of their estate vineyard. Tours will depart on the hour from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Along with their regular wine tastings, they’ll also be pairing asparagus baked in phyllo dough and the 2010 Riesling using asparagus freshly harvested from the Pinnacle Ridge family garden. Sunday kicks off the summer 2011 season Sunday Jazz with Skip Moyer from 3 to 6 p.m. $5 cover charge.

•  Vynecrest Winery in Breinigsville will continue their 2011 Winemaker Tour series on Saturday at 1 p.m. for $5 per person. This tour is titled "Bud Break." Reservations are suggested. In addition, they will feature Art's Acoustic Oldies in the Vyneskeller from 1-4:30 p.m. - no cover charge.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail is a non-profit organization of wineries whose mission is to promote agri-tourism and to create a premiere wine destination and grape growing region while promoting Pennsylvania wines from the region. All of the member wineries have won numerous awards at state, national and international levels. www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com

The Lehigh Valley region is an official American Viticultural Area as designated by the Federal Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in April 2008. The Lehigh Valley AVA includes portions of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania. In order to receive the designation, at least 75 percent of the grapes used to make local wines must be grown within the region. Wineries in the region are permitted to list “Lehigh Valley” as the growing region on their labels.

For more information on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail, visit www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com or connect with them on Twitter and their Facebook fan page.